Adjective placement/meaning changing adjectives

Question

Estoy un poco confundido. Is there a trick for knowing when an adjective should go before or after the noun, or does it just come down to memorization? Like the meaning changing adjectives for example.

Thanks

Answer 1

One tip is that although it is definitely more common to place the adjectives after a noun, when you place them before the noun it can indicate that this description is an emotional response on the part of the speaker instead of an objective comment.

Example: Mi viejo amigo, my old (longtime) friend; but ..... mi amigo viejo, my elderly friend.

Yeah, I kinda made my own little saying to remember it by saying" subjective before and objective after" - trqkkr, Feb 14, 2013

Answer 2

One good rule of thumb (to which I'm sure there are exceptions) is that whichever word (the noun or the adjective) you want to emphasize, you should put last.

The general rule though is noun + adjective.

Thanks - trqkkr, Feb 14, 2013

Answer 3

This link should help. Adjective placement

Very helpful link, thanks rac1! - sinmeta, Feb 14, 2013

Thanks, I already checked that link and took the practice qui, but was still a little confused - trqkkr, Feb 14, 2013